District-voting Plea Rebuffed

Residents Group Vows To Gather Support To Put Question On Ballot

Shipley Says County Must Think Ahead

A group of Osceola residents this week unsuccessfully urged the county to let voters decide whether they want to elect commissioners in single-member districts.

Although representatives of the Citizens for Florida didn't get their wish, they pledged to return with petitions to force the issue on an upcoming ballot.

"We will go ahead and get the signatures we need," said Laura Portorreal-Romero, a Poinciana teacher who serves as the group's president. "We'll come back with about 12,000 signatures."

Osceola and its two cities now elect representatives at-large, with the entire community voting for each office. The county shifted briefly in the 1990s to single-member districts, where only those in a specific district could vote for their county commissioner.

That one election gave Osceola its first and only Hispanic elected official, even though Hispanics make up a third of the county's population.

Supporters of returning to that system often cite ethnic diversity as one reason to change. However, as the issue has gained momentum, supporters pointed out it also ensures more voices in general on a County Commission now made up entirely of white Republican men.

"You don't have to be a minority to benefit from this concept," said Armando Ramirez, who has run unsuccessfully for office and is a past vice chairman of the county's Democratic Party.

Osceola has twice affirmed it plans to continue electing commissioners at-large. Last year, the county's own Charter Review Commission split on whether to put the matter on the ballot, with a majority voting to keep the current system.

Commissioners said this week they would support a referendum if enough voters sign petitions for it. The county's charter allows a citizen referendum if at least 7 percent of registered voters in the past general election sign a petition.

Ken Shipley, who first won office in a single-member election but has won twice more in at-large voting, said he felt the county would eventually shift to single-member districts once its population grew.

"It is what we will be in the future," Shipley said. "But when we decide that, we must also decide on how to elect a commission chairman and how to do away with our county manager. You have to think ahead."